


The Beast's Daughter - [Request]

by kalliblast



Series: Completed Requests [4]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 16:22:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19445134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kalliblast/pseuds/kalliblast
Summary: Short fic about Hornet mourning the death of her mother. Ghost is there to offer whatever comfort they can.





	The Beast's Daughter - [Request]

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sappedsoliloquist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sappedsoliloquist/gifts).



> I wrote this as a request. Leave requests here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18220829
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

The infection was starting to become more of a nuisance recently, taking over the Crossroads. The orange goop spread around the area like fire, taking over the land and taking the lives of many. Hornet didn’t think she’d ever see an end to it, but with the Knight running around, there was hope. Hornet had thought that hope had been lost forever ago, but the Knight, or Ghost as she once called them, proved that she was wrong. It was funny how something so emotionless and void could become the force that ends Hollownest’s suffering.  


But the end of the infection brought upon the end of the dreamers, and if you’re well versed in the history of Hollownest, you’d know that one of those dreamers happens to be Hornet’s mother. Herrah, the beast, the queen of Deepnest. Hornet could be considered a princess because of that fact, even though she never saw herself as one.  


No, princesses were supposed to live luxurious lives. They were supposed to have wealth, power, a home, a family. The idea of “king and queen” and “prince and princess” was lost after the infection. There were no rulers now, no one to take care of the kingdom. Hornet had to do something about that, so she did. She wouldn’t dare let anyone break those seals…  


Then the Knight showed up. And they beat her, twice. And traveled to the abyss… Still determined to continue. She didn’t know what drove them to do it. Was it the basic vessel instinct, to contain the infection? Or did that little Knight have bigger plans? She probably wouldn’t ever know.  


But that’s where we are now. After saving the Knight from the collapse of the Cast-Off Shell, Hornet ran here. To Deepnest. To visit her mother. She knew that the Knight would be heading in the same direction soon. It was time to break the seals. It was time to stop the Radiance. But first, she wanted to pay her respects.  


Hornet wasn’t able to get close to her mother. There was just no time for it. She was born into an odd situation, one where her mother was put into a permanent dream state only months after her birth. The weavers had raised Hornet after that, she considered them family, but Herrah was her real mother. It felt right to at least say goodbye to her before she’d have to pass.  


By the time Hornet got to the den in Deepnest, though, it was too late. The Knight had already did their job. The bed where she once slept was empty and the little Knight was laying on the floor, assumingly just recently coming out of her dreams. Hornet had seen her mother’s sleeping figure hundreds of times, and yes, she knew this had to happen eventually… But seeing the empty bed made her upset. Even though Hornet was given the gift of emotions and a voice, unlike so many other vessels, she was a fighter. She was never one to show much emotion at all, unless it was anger or distaste to an enemy.  


She felt like she had a headache from the spin of emotions she went through. Seeing the Knight, she couldn’t be angry at them. She knew it had to happen… She was destined to be without a family… To never know her mother… This was the end of the infection…  


Still, she couldn’t help but feel awful. Hornet knew that there was nothing that could have been done. There was no way to wake the dreamers, that she knew of at least. And if she stopped the Knight, the kingdom would be destroyed by the infection. At least this way it could be stalled for a bit, while those capable think of other ideas.  


Facts aside, Hornet still couldn’t leave in good conscious. She took a set next to the rocky bed her mother once lied in, just looking it over and thinking about her past and the future of Hollownest.  


She ignored the Knight as they woke up, until they walked over to her and poked her arm. She learned that’s how they communicated mostly; pokes, arm movements, signals. Hornet looked up from her daze, “So you’ve slain the beast… We both know what has to happen… It does pain me, but you’ll have to continue on even if it does cause me some sorrow.” The statement was supposed to be more of a joke to herself, knowing that the Knight would continue whether she was upset or not. The vessels weren’t supposed to feel sympathy. The Knight crossed his arms, as if they were questioning her. Were they even supposed to be able to do that?  


“What? You might think me stern but I’m not completely cold… She is my mother, after all.” She looked away from the Knight and back at the empty bed. “I’m thankful that I was given a life better than a vessel.” She didn’t really think about her words, it’s not like the Knight could get offended. Could they?  


After another moment of silence, Hornet decided she wanted a minute alone to mourn. There was nothing else left for her to do at this point. She couldn’t fix what was done, so she just wanted to say some final goodbyes.  


“Leave me now, Ghost… Allow me a moment more alone.” She gave the Knight a side glance and saw them picking up their nail and placing it on their back. They started to walk past her, but stopped for a quick second. Before the Knight went any further, they gave Hornet a little pat on the back. Something they thought was reassuring, that they’ve seen hundreds of times over the course of their journey. She turned her head to face the Knight, but before she could mention it, they were gone.  


It was oddly reassuring and comforting to Hornet. She had no one left in these troubling times besides these vessels, her siblings. As much as she had sneered at them in her presence, she didn’t mind the little pat. It eased her mind a little, in a strange way.  


_But if they could show sympathy, what does that mean for Hollownest?_

**Author's Note:**

> All feedback in appreciated, please help me get better! 
> 
> I hope no one cares I changed Hornet's dialogue a little. I didn't wanna completely rip from the game haha.


End file.
